MEGAMAN X : COMPLETION
by Jo-Faythe
Summary: Immediately after the defeat of Lumine, Maverick Hunters X, Zero and Axl are brought to the Galapagos base where they soon dive into another war. Meanwhile a girl deals with the shadows of her past...
1. Paradise Lost

MEGAMAN X : COMPLETION

PROLOGUE : PARADISE LOST

By: Johannah Faythe

"Unbelievable..."

There stood Lumine, director of the Jakob Project, on his knees and staring up at the vastness of space. Axl, X and Zero also stood there with weapons in hand, waiting to see what he would do next.

"You may have have defeated me, bu it's too late to stop what has already begun." Lumine continued, struggling to get his words out.

Silence prevailed for no more than a few seconds before Axl answered, "I'll take on plenty more like you if that's what it takes."

"Heh, you really don't have a grasp of the situation at hand, do you?" Lumine chuckled painfully, "Oh well, you'll find out soon enough..."

Silence prevailed once again. The hunters relaxed their grip on their weapons knowing that this battle had finally ended. X looked to Zero, who simply shook his head "No, there's nothing more to do." The sound of footsteps startled the two friends, and they watched in silence as Axl walked closer to the director's empty shell of a body, now cracked and damaged, forever frozen in his deathpose. He had only taken a few steps when Lumine's body violently shook, opening a crack in his chest and releasing several vines, one heading straight for Axl. He braced himself, but the vine headed for the crystal on his helmet, shattering it and knocking the hunter unconscious. The two other hunters reacted quickly. Zero slashed the vine, causing it to disappear. X caught the young reploid and sent a charged buster shot at Lumine, causing the body to explode; nothing remained of the Next Generation Reploid.

x~x~x

"X! X!" Status report!" Came Alia's voice through X's communicator.

"This is X," he reploid while trying to think of what to say. "Axl... Axl has taken damage, but he's fine. We're heading back now..."

x~x~x

The ride down to Earth was long and silent. X stood near the edge of the elevator with Axl in his arms. The boy occasionally groaned, his face in a pained expression and eyes not opening. Zero was at another end of the elevator, leaning against the wall. Each hunter thought different thoughts, but they were all focused on Lumine's words.

"_Awakening... That's how Lumine described it. He said this was evolution. If he's right... then what are we doing?"_

"_If what Lumine said is right, and Sigma won't be coming back... Maybe this means I won't have to fight anymore..."_

Zero looked over at the blue hunter, sensing his thoughts and depression. _"Typical X,"_ he thought, and walked up to his friend.

"I bet you've been thinking about what Lumine said a while ago."

X's eyes widened in surprise as he looked over at his red friend.

"Don't let it get to you X. Just becoming Sigma could hardly be called evolution."

The blue hunter looked out to the stars and responded with a small nod. Zero turned around, intent on going back to his wall, but X was still worried about Lumine's final words.

"Anyways, X..."

"_I have to tell him something... Might as well tell him like it is."_

"Even if us reploids are destined to join the scrapheap when that evolutionary step does come around..."

X's eyes widened with surprise again.

"... We still have to fight. Not only against mavericks, but against our own destinies as well."

With those words, Zero returned to his corner, with hope renewed in both himself and his friend, ready to face whatever challenges await them in the future.

x~END~x


	2. In the Storm

MEGAMAN X : COMPLETION

CHAPTER ONE : In The Storm

By: Johannah Faythe

The Orbital Elevator stood there like a stone in the storm. Most of the thunder and lightning had subsided, but the rain was still coming down like hail. Only a few dared to the brave the weather; 4 Lifesaver units and a burgundy haired reploid with pale pink armour. The five of them stood there while looking up the elevator, rain pelting their bodies.

"Miss Faith, Miss Faith!" someone yelled out. The group turned around to see a green sniper hunter running towards them.

"Gregory! Status update!" The pink reploid yelled back as the hunter stopped a few feet in front of them.

"Yes, ma'am!" he belted out with a salute. "The three S ranked hunters are on their way down now. Estimated time of arrival is twenty minutes. One injury reported, ma'am!"

"Injury? What kind, and who?" she replied slightly shocked.

"Yes, ma'am! The Next Generation Prototype, Axl, has been injured, but he is reported to be fine, ma'am!"

"... Get back to Headquarters, and see if their navigators can get past the blackout zone to find out what happened. Knowing X, he's sugar-coating everything again."

"Yes, ma'am!" The hunter ended his salute, turned on his heel and ran back the way he came.

"Okay boys, change of plans!" she sighed, turning around to face the four Lifesavers, "We're playing blind unless HQ's navigators can get past the blackout zone. Follow my lead, got it?"

"Loud and clear, Faith!" The green Lifesaver replied.

"Good!" she said, activating her communicator at the same time. "This is Head Nurse Faith to Capital City Base! I need an emergency medical transport with examination equipment, now! I am at the base of the Orbital Elevator..."

x~x~x

The room was quiet and dim, and no one dared to speak a word.

Alia, Layer and Pallette were staring at a large screen with an image of the Orbital Elevator, a red dot travelling down the elevator, and a countdown timer in the corner which read "0 hours 18 minutes 43 seconds". It would be another thirteen minutes before the dot turned green, signally the end of the blackout period that stopped communication between them and the hunters on their way down. Alia was anxious.

"_X didn't sound too sure of himself... I hope I'm only being paranoid. Axl's just fine, isn't he?" _she thought. She had a small pain in her lower abdomen, like her circuits were tying each other into knots. _"Why can't I shake this feeling?"_

She was so busy trying to calm her nerves that she didn't notice Commander Signas walk in. "How's everything going on the moon?" He asked, with no response. He looked over at the blond and violet haired navigators, but they only shrugged their shoulders and shook their heads. Alia was the only one who knew what was going on.

"Alia, is everything alright?" he tried again, still failing to get a sound back. He sighed and put his large hand on her small shoulder. That got her attention. "You're worrying too much again. I'm sure they're just fine."

She looked at the commander for a short moment, then back at the screen. Perhaps he was right and she was just over-reacting again. But, why could she not shake the feeling that something was horribly wrong?

x~x~x

"No... NO! Stay away from me! Leave me alone! Please!"

Black shadows surrounded the girl, about fifteen years of age with waist-length orange-brown hair and dull blue-green eyes. Her white turtleneck sweater and sky blue skirt were tattered, dirt-covered and ripped.

"What do you want with me?" she screamed out, scared for her life. "I'll give you anything, just leave me alone!"

One shadow stepped ahead of the group, towards the girl.

"Anything?" it asked, its voice like a snake.

"Just... leave me alone... please..." she replied, reduced to tears.

"... Alright. The price for us to leave you alone is..." it started, softly putting one of its sharp-clawed hands on her shoulder. The other hand grabbed her face, forcing the girl to look directly into its face.

And then she woke up.

x~x~x

"Eri! Come on girl, wake up!" yelled the pink and green reploid, shaking the orange haired teenager to the point of whip lash syndrome. She woke up with a start and glomped the reploid.

"Was it that nightmare again?" the reploid asked. Her question was answered with the girl's hushed whimpers. She sighed, as this was the fourth time in two days that this nightmare had haunted her 'sister'.

"I have just the cure for bad dreams~" she chimed, returning a big bear hug to the teen. They stayed like that for a long time, but the reploid managed to get the girl asleep again, without further issue. She stayed in the room watching over her just to make sure of it.

"_Poor Erika… I wish I could do something, but none of us really can. The best we can do for now is just keep looking after her like we have for the past ten years, and hope that they just go away on their own. But… if only we knew who she really was. Maybe that would answer some of our questions."_

She looked over at the girl, sleeping restfully in her bed. No yelling, no screaming, no muttering of words, no fear, no terror. She was at peace for the night.

"_Until then, I guess we just have to keep doing what we have always done. Good night, little Erika. May you have sweet dreams tonight." _Without a sound, she slipped out of the room and with one last look at the sleeping girl she closed the door.

"_I hope you don't have to deal with these nightmares for long…"_

x~x~x

"_**It appears that Lumine has failed. I'm quite surprised, to tell the truth. Those two ancient relics... and that horrible prototype were able to take down my beloved project, my programming, my self. Oh well, at least the backup plan worked, but it will be a while until it takes full effect. Until then, I want those pesky hunters to know what I think about them. You can deliver my little "present" for me, yes?"**_

Infiltration of the base had been simple enough. It was nearly impossible to tell one hunter from another because of all the mass produced models. It simply made her job easier.

"_**It's truly a simple task. A reploid of your calibre should have no problems achieving the goal."**_

The base was quiet. Not surprisingly because the three hunters were on their way back, and everyone was waiting on news of their arrival. This made her job even easier than before.

"_**All I'm asking if for you to destroy their base of operations. Just place each "gift" on a central support, get out of there, and detonate. I know you are more than capable, but do you have the will to do it?"**_

Each bomb had been carefully placed on a major support beam. The only floors left were the top three, then she could head to the roof and await transport out.

"_**I knew you could do it. You are my most faithful slave, after all. Always willing to obey her mistress's commands at a moments notice. You are truly my favourite."**_

"_**I know very well."**_

"_**Good. You are dismissed. I expect you to be done before the hunters return, Captain Tonbo."**_

"_**Of course, Mistress Nightshade..."**_

She stood in front of another one of the central support beams for the building. She stared at it for a short while, and then held out her hand as a small black box appeared in it.

"_**You will carry out your mission without fail, right?"**_

She looked at the box, then the support beam, then at the door. There was no turning back. The mission had to be completed successfully.

"_**You do know what will happen if something goes wrong, correct?"**_

Without another though she placed the box on the beam and headed out the door. She looked back at the beam, and headed out the door towards the staircase, up to the roof.

Once there a few minutes later, she looked up at the cloudy sky. Thunder rumbled, and there was lightning in the clouds. She walked towards the edge of the roof and looked down at the ground several dozen floors below. The wind blew, and she jumped off.

Her body glowed for a few seconds, then transformed into a indigo dragonfly animaloid. Her pink wings spread out and sent body skyward. She flew northward, away from the base.

"It has been done. I am a safe distance away," she talked into her communicator. A few seconds later, her call was answered, with a loud explosion, the sound of collapsing metal and cement, and the screams of those filled with fear for their life and pure terror. Her job was done, and it was successful.

"Mission complete. Returning to the hideout," she said, teleporting away from the scene.

x~x~x~x

END CHAPTER ONE

x~x~x~x

_Author's Notes: D-O-N-E DONE! Finally~_

_Anyways, please excuse any spelling, grammar, etc, as my editor is fasting from books and pleasure reading (explain that one to me!). I've gone through it several times, but I'm pretty sure I missed stuff. If I did, please mention it and I'll get around to fixing ASAP._


	3. Through the Fire

MEGAMAN X : COMPLETION

CHAPTER TWO : Through the Fire

By: Johannah Faythe

"Miss Faith, ma'am!" yelled the green sniper hunter, running towards the pink reploid and the four multicolored Lifesavers.

"Gregory! Did they get through? I need more information now! They'll be down in ten minutes!" she yelled back, irritated and concerned.

"No, ma'am… I haven't been able to get through to Hunter HQ. All I keep getting is static from their end," he quietly replied, looking down and kicking the water saturated ground.

"..." she was silent, trying to collect her thoughts. "I have a really bad feeling about this. Contact Metropolis to check up on them."

"A-are you sure, ma-"

"I'm POSITIVE. Get them there immediately. There is no reason for communication to suddenly cease when all has been good until now. DO IT."

"Y-yes m-m-ma'am," he stuttered, running back in the direction from which he came.

Faith sighed and stared up at the elevator, the rain still coming down hard on her small body.

"_It's starting again. Let's see… going on the ninth Maverick War, and I've been around for four so far. Let's see if I can survive my fifth. How many more until the dream becomes a reality?"_

"Faith?"

She looked over at the green Lifesaver standing over a foot taller than her. He looked up at the elevator attempting to see what she saw.

"Are you sure you're okay? I know you've been stressed out lately. I'll gladly cover you if you need it."

"I'm just fine, Verde. Since when has anything stopped me from doing my job? You should know better by now."

"I know, just trying to look after my little sister."

"Heh, this little sister doesn't need a babysitter. I can more than look after myself and deal with anything that comes my way."

"Now THAT'S the Faith I know; never getting down, no matter how bleak, or how dark or how bad."

"That's because no one messes with me and gets away with it."

"Good, let's keep it that way, `kay?"

"Okay!"

x~x~x

The floor shook violently. Pieces of the ceiling came crumbling down. Then the power went out.

"**Run for your lives! It's coming down!"**

Panic, fear, terror; that was all one could see as everyone scrambled out of the collapsing building. All safety procedures, the evacuation drills, every piece of knowledge and training meant nothing when chaos set in. Some ran for the exits, others hid under various pieces of furniture and equipment, while even more jumped out of any open window they could find, all to escape a crushing death.

"**We gotta get out!"**

Not even Commander Signas had control when it came to this particular situation. Common sense had disappeared as soon as the first explosion happened.

"**What's going on?"**

A few tried to organize the chaos, directing whoever would listen to the nearest accessible exit. In the process, many were trampled over and could not the stampede on top of them. No one stopped to help.

"**We're going to die here!"**

Those who got out unscathed ran, they ran as far as they could without looking back, without a second thought about those still trapped in the building; friends, co-workers, and their reploid families, all forgotten in the mess of things. Their first concern was themselves.

"**No, not like this..."**

And then the building came crashing down from top to bottom. First the roof caved in, taking the rest of the building with it. Screams for help could be heard from miles away, but no one looked back, no one rushed in to be a hero. Dust swept over the scene like a dense fog.

"**This isn't happening! It can't be happening!"**

When it cleared, there was nothing left except a heap of what was once Maverick Hunter Headquarters. Not a scream, not a sound came from the destroyed building.

x~x~x

"Ugh…" Axl groaned.

The world was spinning, and his head hurt.

"Calm down, Axl, you're going to be fine," came a soft voice he didn't recognize. It sounded so distant.

Another voice spoke up, this one deep and almost growling, but he couldn't understand a word it said.

Then the world became black again.

x~x~x

"He's regaining consciousness?" asked Verde. Faith stood over the still body of the charcoal colored reploid laying on the gurney.

"Somewhat," she replied. "He's constantly slipping in and out."

She sighed and rubbed her forehead.

"Are you sure you can do this?" he asked again.

"I told you, I'm fine…" She stated, "Just wondering how X is so blind… Axl's not fine and withholding the answers I need is not helping the situation one bit. You would think, with his personality, he would be spilling his circuits out with every detail. Even Zero is refusing to tell us anything! The truth is, X is too optimistic. He's convinced himself that everything will be alright, when the reality is, it's not! Dammit all X..."

She thought back to the moment the hunters came down, Zero looking like his usual cool and collected self, and a depressed X holding the limp Axl in his arms. She had chewed them out for not telling her about what happened, and even after the lecture they still would not give her any more than "He got hurt." She need to know who, what, when and how to get her job done properly, but refusal to cooperate only slowed the process. One first look, the only damage was to his helmet's crystal, it was shattered. But who caused it? What attack? When did it happen, and how? It was even scarier that he was unconscious for no apparent reason. This only raised more unanswered questions. Oh the stress of being a First Responder!

Verde looked down at his sister, her head resting in her hands. _"She's too stressed and overworked. A good night's sleep should fix that. But we're not getting any rest any time soon. Our jobs and our patients come first."_

"Rojo, step on the accelerator, get us to the base and fast!" he belted.

"Yes, sir!" Came the reply from the driver. The ambulance jolted a bit and the engine revved. "Should be there in a matter of minutes at this speed!"

"Good!" responded Verde. He wanted this nightmare over with.

x~x~x

Sirens pierced through the dead silence. Those not lost in guilt and sorrow looked up to see dozens of rescue and recovery vehicles coming towards them. The stopped in front of the scene, staring at disbelief at what had happened, but there was little time for that. A few called in for additional back up, while the rest split into groups to deal with the scenario. They quickly set up tents and equipment to deal with the survivors, and the rest starting searching through the rubble, dragging out lifeless body after lifeless body of those not lucky enough to reach an exit in time.

"Quick, over here! She's still alive!" a call rang out from the far end of the non-existent building. A large group of the responders ran there, with differing pieces of equipment and machinery to help the lucky - or was it unlucky? - Survivor.

x~x~x

Four reploids sat around a small circular table. The dimly lit crystalline chandelier dangling above their heads was the source of light, casting shadows over their faces. Outside it was clear; a full white moon in the sky and a thin layer of powdered snow on the ground.

"Again? Aww, poor Eri-chan…" cried the youngest one, a boy with wild blond hair, wearing fleecy yellow pyjamas. He held a large brown teddy bear in his arms.

"I know, this is getting ridiculous how often it happens, and it's always the same dream too!" chimed the green and pink girl with long black hair in a tangled mess.

"The black shadows that torment her…" whispered another, this one with neon green hair and rusty orange armor, "Perhaps they are suppressed memories that haunt her."

"You really think so, Razor?" the final one questioned, a brown haired woman with mixed blue and white armor.

"It's the best we've got. Other than that, we've got nada, zip, nothing, zilch!" the youngest exclaimed.

"Shut it, Mick! You'll wake her up again!" snarled the black haired girl, restraining herself from strangling the boy.

"Destiny, watch your temper and tone, or else you will be the one to wake her up," the brunette said, keeping her cool as she got between the two 'children'. "Didn't you just get her to sleep peacefully? Let's keep it that way, got it?"

"… Yes, Sandra…" the two youngsters gave up, defeated.

"So, what should be done about Erika's nightmares?" Razor asked after the chaos had died down a little. "We cannot just leave her."

"…" Sandra was silent, deep in thought and regaining her composure, "I think we should wait for Kristy to return. She knows more about Erika than all of us combined."

"I think that would be the best course of action. Is everyone in agreement?"

Every nodded there's heads.

"Then we shall wait until morning. Session adjourned."

x~x~x

Two reploids stood at the edge of the building, looking at what their fellow co-workers were doing.

The first one to speak up was the officer unit. "She is extremely lucky. Whatever deity that looks over us reploids made sure of that."

The other one, a dark skinned male, let out a small laugh. "Ha, nothing looks after us, not even our human creators."

"Then how do you explain that?" the officer pointed towards where the Lifesavers were pulling a violet reploid woman out from underneath a steel bar. She was still alive, but badly damaged.

"... Okay, you win this round. It really is a miracle that she survived the collapse. But I still don't think there's a god in existence for us. One of the human ones must have had nothing to do today and went outside his job description."

"Whatever, I don't believe you."

"What? It's only true. We're just a pile of scrap metal, nuts and bolts. Humans replace us constantly, we're not permanent. As soon as one of us dies, five more take our place."

"But we are still living beings. We may not eat, or sleep, or... reproduce... like the humans do, but we still need energy, and we have free will. We may not qualify as organic, but that doesn't mean we don't live."

"Ha, you're nuts, absolutely crazy! Do you have a screw loose? Better yet, ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FREAKING MIND!" the dark one exclaimed, smacking the officer over the head.

"Hey! Back to work you two!" shouted a larger officer, eyes glaring at the two slackers.

The two winced in pain at their superior's death glare. They were in trouble once they got back to Metropolis.

"Yes sir, right away sir!" they stuttered, racing off to help with the clean-up.

x~x~x

"**You have done very well, Captain Tonbo. Their panic, chaos, and fear is their own downfall. That just proves how unworthy and how out-dated they are. Not fit for our world."**

"**Mistress Nightshade, if it is all right for me to ask, what do you mean?"**

"**Hehehe, you don't understand, oh wonderful slave? I guess I cannot blame you, as you have not learned all that you need to know yet. Listen closely, my pet, for I will only explain once."**

"**Of course, Mistress."**

"**Those bombs... They were not powerful enough to collapse the building, at least not right away. The only reason it fell was because of their own selfishness to save themselves. If they hadn't of panicked so fast, they would have had much more time to get out. But they do not think like that. The explosions were simply a test, to see if they were smart enough to stand a chance in our world, but they will not."**

"**So... what you are saying is that their attempts to get out of the building caused the structural failure?"**

"**Aren't you quick to learn. That is exactly what I am saying."**

"**But how does that relate to us and our goal? Why test them? They would not fit in anyways, they are not like us!"**

"**You dare question my methods? What I do is for my reasons alone. You will simply listen and carry out your orders. Do you understand, Tonbo?"**

"**... Yes, Mistress."**

"**Good. You are dismissed."**

X~X~X~X

END CHAPTER 2

X~X~X~X

_Author's notes: Wow, long chapter, but it only took me a short while to finish. How long was that, a little over a week? I don't know! Hardest part for me was figuring out which one of the 100 Themes would best describe this chapter. Still lacking an editor, so anything that doesn't seem right, tell me and I'll fix it._

_Any flaming trolls will be properly doused and disposed of._

_EDIT: Fixed some errors, and added some more descriptions to make it a little more understandable. Also changed around, added and removed parts as necessary. Also did a spelling and grammar check. To sum it all up, it should be as close to perfection (ha-ha, anyone get it?) as possible._


	4. Seeking Solace

**MEGAMAN X : COMPLETION**

**CHAPTER THREE: Seeking Solace**

By Johannah Faythe

X was silent as he sat on the examination table while a cheery cotton-candy pink nurse examined his body for injuries and assessed his vital systems.

"No physical injuries and vitals are looking good. All clear~" the nurse chimed with a big smile on her face.

X didn't move. He stared down at the glimmering white floors. His mind was elsewhere.

"Uh, Mister X? Did you hear me?" the nurse tried again. "I said you're fine. All done."

He looked up at the nurse, staring through her with lifeless green eyes. He looked down at the floor before getting off the examination table and exiting the room with only the sound of footprints left behind. He wandered aimlessly through the hallways of the building he had never been to before, and it wasn't long before he was lost. But, either he did not notice, or he did not care. His thoughts were just as random as the many turns he took.

"_Dammit! Axl got hurt again. He should never have become a hunter, he's too young and inexperienced. But, at the same time… If it wasn't for him, I never would have started fighting again. And against Lumine… He brought me back to my senses. Sometimes fighting IS unavoidable, but I still refuse to do what needs to be done. I'm the idiot! I let him get hurt!"_

He was so lost in thought that he didn't notice the wrong turn into a wall he took until it was too late. He stumbled backwards and gave his head a good shake returning him to reality.

"Oh… great. I'm lost. Can this day get any worse?" he muttered, slipping a few unmentionable words under his breath.

"Excuse me, you look a little lost. Can I help you?" a voice came from behind, sounding like a young boy. X turned around to see a reploid with grey-white hair that covered a third of his face. His armor was simplistic and unusual: a green chest plate and brown cargo pants.

"Uh… Yeah," X managed to reply, feeling a little silly that he got himself so lost in a new environment. "Could you point out the way to the Medbay?"

"Not a problem!" the reploid smiled. "Follow me."

x~x~x

Zero sat on the bench, occasionally looking up at the large television displaying the world news. It was nothing much; just stuff he already knew or things that didn't interest him. The news ticker at the top of the screen didn't have anything other than election results from a faraway country he had never been to. He was alone in that room, waiting for X to join him, or for one of the nurses to come and give him news about Axl.

"_Things are rather quiet around here. I'm surprised. Being the closest facility to the Orbital Elevator, one would think that it would be bustling with action and activity."_

He looked out at the nearby reception desk, where the lone clerk sat, leaning back on the chair with his eyes closed.

"_But lo and behold, I am the only one here… I guess."_

He looked at the clock at the bottom right corner of the screen. "00:17" it read.

"_Two hours since our return. No contact from HQ since we defeated Lumine…"_

His thoughts were cut off with the sound of footsteps. He looked up to see his blue friend following behind a green and brown reploid.

"… And here is the Medbay waiting room. Make yourself comfortable, I'll go check on your friend," the green one said, pointing out the room that Zero sat in before heading down a different hallway. X walked it, slumping into the seat next to him.

"So, where did you run off to?" Zero asked. X looked like he was going to die from embarrassment. "Okay, bad question. Want to talk about anything?"

X was still silent.

"_Another bad question. It's official, I suck at this."_

x~x~x

A gentle wind tickled his face. He opened one green eye and saw a bright blue sky painted with soft clouds. He laid in long, soft green grass coated with a cool morning dew. He quickly sat up and examined the landscape in awe. He was on top of a hill, with a glittering river below. Behind him was a small town, with clean white buildings. He listened closely and heard laughter.

"… _What is this place? I've… been here before."_

The sky suddenly turned blood red. Dark thunderous clouds loomed overhead. Laughter turned to screams as fires broke out and buildings tumbled. The once green grass shrivelled up and died, and the wind grew violent.

"Wh-what's going on?" Axl yelled out in vain. Instinct took over as he ran towards the burning village, unprepared for whatever maverick scum showed up. He didn't care; he wanted to save the village.

x~x~x

"No, not again!" Erika screamed out, once again coming face to face with her nightmare. The sky was blood red, with ominous clouds looming overhead. It was hard to tell that she was standing in the middle of a village, as all the buildings had collapsed and everything lay in ruins. Terrified eyes scanned the scene for an escape, as she knew too well what happened next.

x~x~x

"Darn it!" Axl yelled out in frustration. "Where is everyone?"

He had been through the entire village twice, but it was empty; a ghost town that had spontaneously combusted. Did he only imagine the voices?

He once again found himself near the center of the village, recognizing a ruined fountain, lifeless greenery and smouldering buildings.

"What's the use of looking again? There's no one here…"

He took one last look around. Not much had changed, but he had to take a second look. Was that a girl up ahead? He needed a closer look just to make sure he wasn't seeing things. But as soon as he took a step she ran off, terrified. Did he scare her? He wanted to yell at her, "wait!" but his gut feelings told he not to do it. He restrained himself from running, and slowly followed behind her.

x~x~x

From the fires emerged ghostly shadows, their glowing red eyes focused on their prey – the terrified girl. Her mind said to be still, but her body started running. This only entertained the hunters, as they slowly followed her through a nearby meadow. Not paying attention to where she was going she soon came face to face with a familiar cliff with no way around or over it. She turned around, coming face to face with the shadows like she had so many times before. They taunted her, they threatened her, but took no action against her.

"_What kind of sick minded game is this?" _Erika's mind screamed.

"A game?" cried out their leader, a tall slender woman-figure with the voice of a demon. "You think this is simply a game, a form of entertainment? How wrong you are, disgusting prototype."

Her eyes grew in fear and disbelief as she stared at the dark figure, "H-how…?"

"I know all about you. I know who you are, WHAT you are. There is nothing about you I do not know. But you are not part of the plan, so give yourself up now before I do it FOR you."

"No, you're lying. No one knows who I am… Impossible…" Erika cried, tears flowing down her cheek.

"Emotion… how useless; simply a hindrance; an unneeded weakness. A reploid with emotion has no place in our new world. Die, scum!"

Erika's body braced itself for whatever came next. She heard a gunshot.

x~x~x

He followed the girl all the way to a cliff that seemingly came out of nowhere. He hadn't seen what was chasing the girl before, but now shadowy figures started to form in front of his eyes. They took unfamiliar shapes, like tall slender creatures with wings, stout balls with arms and legs, and everything in between. Only two forms looked human to him – a slender figure with womanly curves, and a shorter figure that stood beside the woman and watched.

He saw the girl, with saddened green-blue eyes, pasty white skin and long wavy hair that was a similar color to his own hair. Something about her seemed so familiar and brought back happy memories, but from where? He had no time to think however, as the woman figure raised her hand above her head and the girl braced herself for impact.

Axl had to do something now.

His body and unconscious mind guided his hands out in front of his face as his familiar laser gun appeared in his left hand. His eyes looked ahead at his target like he had done many times before. A quick calculation and readjustment of the gun's trajectory, and he was ready. He pulled the trigger, sending a familiar blue laser bullet towards the target.

It went through the feminine shadow, causing it to disappear in a wisp of smoke. The other shadows also disappeared, falling one by one to the ground. As soon as the last one hit the ground he ran from his hiding place towards the girl, still prepared to face her demise.

x~x~x

"Hey," someone said. Erika refused to open her eyes.

"Hey, come on. They're gone now," the voice said again. He sounded so kind and sincere, so… familiar.

"_Am I dead? Did my nightmare really kill me?"_

"I took care of them, they aren't going to hurt you now," he said once more.

She gathered her courage and forced her body to relax. She opened one eye, and saw the sun rising in from of her. A hand reached out to her, so she took it and was helped up to her feet. She saw the source of the voice; a teenaged boy, with green eyes and long hair in a spiky ponytail with the same orange-brown hair as her own. An X-shaped scar stuck out on his face, the cross-section landing between his eyes.

"You okay? Did they hurt you?" the boy asked. Erika could not speak; something in her throat would not let words out. She looked down at the ground and only nodded.

"Well, that's good. You did say you were okay, right?"

Erika nodded again. She looked up at the boy again and saw that his body was see-through, like he was turning invisible. The boy looked at himself and knew he was disappearing too.

"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. Take care of yourself, okay? Trust me."

With those final words the boy completely vanished, leaving the girl by herself with the sunrise.

"… I know…" she whispered to the wind, before disappearing herself.

X~X~X~X

END CHAPTER 3

X~X~X~X

_Author's Notes: Wow… that took a looooooooooooong time. Sorry about that, school and all that stuff. I thought this chapter would be longer, and then I realized my writing is a lot bigger than I originally thought. School is nearing the end and with my current track record it shouldn't take an eternity to finish a chapter._

_Speaking of another chapter, beware! Next chapter is going to be a long one! Lots of characters to introduce, and most of them are characters of my friends._

_Until then, I bid you good day!_


	5. Questioning

**MEGAMAN X : COMPLETION**

**Chapter 4 – Questioning**

By Johannah Faythe

**1000101001  
****0011111000  
****0010010101  
****110II101010**

**POSSIBLE ERROR DETECTED  
****INITIATE CHKSYS?  
**… … …  
**NO RESPONSE RECEIVED  
****CHKSYS INITIATED**

**ANALYZING SYSTEM "NGR-Proto-001"… … …**

**ANALYZING INDEXED MEMORIES (STEP 1 of 3)  
****9210873645 INDEXED MEMORIES LOCATED  
****790218 UNINDEXED MEMORIES RECOVERED  
****0 UNINDEXED MEMORIES RESTORED**

**ANALYZING COPY CHIP (STEP 2 of 3)  
****187 DNA ENTRIES TOTAL  
****9 DNA ENTRIES ACTIVE  
****3 DNA ENTRIES INACTIVE  
****175 DNA ENTRIES DELETED  
****DELETING ACTIVE ENTRIES… … …  
****8 of 9 ENTRIES SUCCESSFULLY DELETED  
****1 of 9 ENTRIES UNSUCCESSFULLY DELETED**

**ANALYZING COPY CHIP – RELATED SYSTEMS (STEP 3 of 3)  
****4 RELATED SYSTEMS FOUND  
****WAITING FOR RESPONSE… … …  
**… … …  
**ERROR: "COPYLHND" NOT RESPONDING  
****ERROR: "COPYRHND" NOT RESPONDING  
****SEARCHING FOR SOLUTION… … …  
**… … …  
**POSSIBLE SOLUTION FOUND  
****INITIATE SYNCRONIZE WITH "NGR-Proto-002"?  
**… … …  
**NO RESPONSE RECEIVED  
****SYNCHRONIZE ABORTED**

x~x~x

Many wires were connected to the capsule, monitoring AI usage, Core activity, and Control Chip vitals. All appeared to be fine, but nurses ran back and forth, conducting a variety of test and analyzing systems for anomalies.

"Verde, we're coming up with nothing. All seems to be fine," a male nurse reported. The green Lifesaver towered over the capsule, looking at the young hunter, Axl, resting within. He could not stop himself from staring at the shattered circular gem on the hunter's helmet. From what he had heard, the hunter had been attacked, which resulted in the shattered crystal and his unconsciousness. The Lifesaver's partner, Faith, had headed out to the Medbay waiting room to once again ask the boy's partners, hunters X and Zero, about the attack.

"Keep those tests coming!" his thunderous voice echoed, "The kid is healthy and young. There should be no reason for him to drop like a stone from a single attack. I want energy readings, core activity levels, and a full examination of his copy chip and related systems!"

"Yes, sir!" was the overwhelming response from the thirty-some nurses all working their hardest in that room.

x~x~x

"_All his vitals are normal, so what exactly is going on? I need answers, and they start with X and Zero."_

Faith headed through the halls of the large but familiar base. The path to the Medbay was in her head before she decided to try once more for answers. Her electronic brain rummaged through years of experience, searching for some sort of explanation for Maverick Hunter Axl's unconsciousness. She came up with hundreds of possibilities, but the answer lied in what happened to him. Since he couldn't speak for himself, she needed to hunt down the answer herself, and that answer was with his two team mates, Zero and X.

"_I swear, if they give me another BS answer like 'he got hurt', I will rip them apart with my bare hands, and I will make sure they CAN'T die."_

"Miss Faith, ma'am!" a young boy called out to her. She snapped out of her rage quickly, looking at the reploid standing in front of her. "I was just looking for you! How is that New Gen doing? Will he be okay? His friends are really worried about him."

"Hey Alph, actually, I was just heading out to talk to his friends. He's still unconscious, but his vitals appear to be normal. I need a few more answers before I can say if he'll be alright or not, but so far all looks good," she responded, patting the boy's head before continuing on her way.

x~x~x

"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. Take care of yourself, okay?" Axl said as the world he was in disappeared. He was left alone in a dark world.

"_That was weird... and yet familiar. I've been there before, I've been in that situation before, or at least a similar situation..."_

**NO RESPONSE RECEIVED**

**SYNCRONIZE ABORTED**

"_W-what? What just happened?"_

**CHKSYS COMPLETE**

**REBOOTING SYSTEMS... … …**

"_Hold on a second! What's going on?"_

**STARTUP INITIATED**

**PLEASE WAIT WHILE SYSTEMS START UP... … …**

Axl struggled to move, but something was restricting his movement. He knew he was laying down at a forty-five degree angle. Then his head starting throbbing - a loud pulsing every second. The throbs were so loud he couldn't hear himself think.

With what little energy he felt he had, he forced his eyes open, seeing a giant shadow looking over him and a blindingly bright light behind it.

x~x~x

Verde didn't remember zoning out, but he was brought out of his trance by a soft groaning. He looked at Axl within the capsule and saw him struggling to move within the tight space. Then his eyes opened.

"Sir, he's waking up!" a few nurses cried out.

"I can see that quite well!" Verde sarcastically responded, his deep voice rumbling like thunder, "Contact Faith and get her back here, it's urgent!"

"I… I can go get her; I just passed her a second ago! I'll be right back," a young voice shouted back. Verde turned around just in time to see a blur or green and brown run out the door.

"Alphie, wait!" Verde called back, but it was too late, "That'll just take longer…"

"Um, sir?" a female nurse chimed, "Lightning hit our Com Tower a little while ago and the techies haven't been able to fix it yet. All communications even within the base are down."

"… Smart move, Alph," he muttered.

x~x~x

Zero stared at the TV, numbing his mind to the silence of his friend and the room he sat in. He just wanted to clear his mind, forget what was happening, but for some reason everything reminded him of Axl.

"_He's fine. He'll pull through. He's been through worst before. Just got to let the doctors do their jobs and then we'll be heading back home."_

He was pulled from his train of thought by the screen turning blank. He looked around and saw a pink armored reploid at the door, holding the remote in her hand. He quickly recognized her as the nurse from the elevator. She looked a little mad as she walked in and took a seat across from him and X.

"_Here we go again…"_

"Hello again," she started, "in case you didn't get my name the first time, I'm Faith. I'm trying to help Axl, but first I need some answers. I know he got hurt, but what exactly happened is important. I need every detail you can give me. Who, what, where, when, how… Anything you can give me is important."

Zero looked at her, then at X, and back at her. He knew very well X would not give her an answer.

"Well…" he started, but was interrupted by a young boy's voice.

"He's up! He's up! Axl has regained consciousness!" the green and brown reploid from before yelled out, crashing into a chair as he rocketed into the room.

Both X and Zero jumped to their feet, as they both wanted to see Axl. Faith headed to the door, and quickly turned around and faced the two.

"You stay here. Alphie will come get you when you can see him," she ordered before running down the hallway.

X looked tense. Zero put a hand on his friend's shoulder, and he soon relaxed. "Let her do her job. We'll be seeing him in no time, and then we'll head home to HQ. We'll celebrate, and back to work we go. You just have to be patient."

"Yeah, I guess," were the first words he heard from X in a while. "I don't know why, but I've got this feeling, like something bad is going to happen."

"You're worrying too much again. You'll see. Everything will be fine."

x~x~x

The sun peaked out its head from behind the hilly landscape, coloring the sky golden and the clouds various shades of orange and red. The fresh dusty snow glittered, as if it was powdered diamonds. A nearby neighborhood woke up with the sun, as coffee makers turned on and brewed the grounds placed in them the previous day and people prepared to face the day.

"Good MORNING!" exclaimed a blonde-haired reploid, clad in fleecy yellow pajamas, a brown teddy bear held tightly in his right arm.

He was greeted by three other reploids; one making a small egg and bacon breakfast, the second sitting at the dining table and staring up at the chandelier, and the last one sleeping on the raggedy couch in the next room. "Is Eri-chan not up yet?"

"Not quite yet, Mick, let her sleep, she had a rough night, remember?" the woman making breakfast questioned him. She looked at him with friendly brown eyes, and constantly shooed a piece of her bangs off of her face as it fell in front of her eyes.

"Aww… yeah, I remember. I hope she didn't wake up again, that would be so sad," the boy whined, scuffling his feet on the hardwood floors. "Desi-chan, please tell me she didn't wake up again!"

The dark-skinned reploid broke out of her trance, but still slumped on her chair as her head hit the table. She looked at him with mean eyes and a look saying, "I'm gonna kill you." It was quite obvious that she wasn't in a good mood.

"Look, she didn't make a peep after I got her to sleep again, but I stayed up all night anyways worrying about her. Would you kindly leave me alone?" she snarled at the boy, causing his wild hair to stand up straight.

"Dez, stop being in such a grumpy mood," a sleepy response came from the couch, where a neon-headed reploid lay with a pillow covering his face. "I hate the mornings too, but at least I don't complain about it."

The brunette stared at the man on the couch, one hand on her hip and the other holding on to a spatula. She rolled her eyes, "Yeah, right. Where are you every time I need help doing the morning chores? That's right, in your room, hiding from the sun. It's more annoying that Desi's mood swings."

An orange eye peaked out from underneath the pillow, before disappearing once again to its dark home. "Whatever."

x~x~x

All eyes were on Faith as she ran through the door. Everyone had stopped working, waiting on Faith's orders before making their next move.

"_Now it's show time."_

She grabbed herself a chair, placed it in front of the capsule and sat on it.

"Hey Axl, I'm nurse Faith. I'm here to help you. Are you feeling okay?" she asked with a sincere smile on her face.

The twisted painful expression on his face already told her that he was anything but okay, but as a nurse she had to listen to the patient and what he told her.

"M-my head hurts… like it's being crushed," he responded in a raspy voice. Right now she knew the obvious, and it was quite clear his head would be in pain after a hit like the one he took… whatever that hit was. Now that she knew for sure, she could take action.

"I have just the solution," she responded as she got up from her chair and pressed a button on the side of the capsule, opening its lid. "Can you tell me everything you remember?"

As soon as the lid was all the way up Axl sat upright and held his head, "Where do you want me to start?"

"Uh, start from the Sigma battle," she muttered, moving his hands away so she could examine his helmet.

"Okay… We got through all the traps and such on the moon and, no surprise here, Sigma was behind everything. We kicked butt and we beat him. He was so weak though. Then Lumine shows up… I thought he was being used by Sigma, and then he tells us that he was behind everything, he manipulated Sigma! He kept rambling on and on about evolution… how the New Gens can go "'maverick' at will"… How I don't have the specs to do that… It was nuts. We finally beat him, but it was hard. He pulled this last-ditch effort to beat us out of nowhere but we finally got him down for the count… Everything after that is a blur… How did I even get here?"

"X carried you, what a nice guy. I know a lot of hunters who will leave behind an injured teammate, but you got lucky, kid. X and Zero are the best hunters in existence."

"Wait, what? What happened to me?"

"Not too much. Lumine pulled off one more last-ditch effort and ended up getting you in the head. You look fine, but…"

Axl heard a small 'click', and almost immediately a lot pressure on his head was relieved. His head still hurt, but now it was at least tolerable. Pieces of orange-brown hair fell in his eyes.

"… He got you pretty good, smashed that crystal on your helmet… What a pretty head of hair you got underneath this thing," Faith giggled, showing off his helmet and the smashed circular gem in the front. Axl couldn't believe it, his crystal got smashed AND he had more hair than he originally thought. He ran his fingers through the hair in his face, then on top of his head - it all lead to that spikey ponytail of his on the back of his head. "Surprising, huh? You're almost rivaling Zero on 'most hair on a single reploid'."

"Huh…" Axl stared at his helmet. He had more questions for the nurse, but considering the fact that she asked him what happened, she wouldn't have the answers he needed.

Faith smiled at the boy, then redirected her attention to the multitude of nurses he hadn't realized were there. There were a lot of them, 60? Actually, maybe a little closer to 40.

"All tests show no abnormalities, correct? Since he's up and about we might as well move to R&R. Are there any open beds?" Faith questioned a nearby nurse, a light blue female with brown hair in a bun behind her head.

"The tests show nothing wrong, but we have no open beds for quite a bit. Many of our own are using them, after all that's happened with the Next Gens going maverick and what-not… We can't really spare a bed," the nurse fumbled around with a clipboard, flipping through data-page after data-page.

"Not a problem. I've got a bed in my office. I'll take him there."

"Miss Faith, you can't really do that…"

"Why not? It's open and unused, and we need this room for the next big disaster."

"…"

"Exactly," Faith stated, "Think you can walk, kid? It's only three doors down."

"But, Miss Faith…!" the nurse once again spoke up, but quickly quieted down when Faith shot her a look that said, "I know what I'm doing, don't question my methods."

X~X~X~X

END CHAPTER 4

X~X~X~X

_Author's notes: I LIED! … About what this chapter's content was supposed to be. It's still long, but "Introductions" got pushed back AGAIN. Whoops. From now on, I'm not telling you what's next. I will not tell the audience what's next, I will not tell the audience what's next..._

_Umm... fast chapter! O_o 7 pages in a week... Can I keep this up? Who knows!_


	6. Good Morning

**MEGAMAN X : COMPLETION**

**Chapter 5 – Good Morning**

By Johannah Faythe

"**Good morning. I would like to remind everyone that our communications tower is currently down as it got struck by lightning. Our technicians are currently working on fixing this problem****. Until then all wireless communications are down, meaning that no communications will be coming in and out of the base. This also means the International News Channel will no longer be broadcasting..."**

Faith woke up, finding herself sprawled out on her desk, a pillow underneath her head and a blanket over her shoulders. She shot up rapidly, looking around the room. She saw Axl curled up the large bed, buried underneath all the blankets and pillows but his orange spikey ponytail sticking out against the white sheets. Looking down at the floor she saw a blue clump she soon recognized as X, and a mess of blond hair coming from the other side of the bed who she guessed was Zero. She looked at her desk again, seeing Axl's helmet sitting there with its crystal still shattered.

"_How__...? Verde. Good old big brother looking out for everyone. But when did I pass out? And when did X and Zero get here?"_

x~x~x

The sun peaked out its head from behind the hilly landscape, coloring the sky golden and the clouds various shades of orange and red. The fresh dusty snow glittered, as if it was powdered diamonds. A nearby neighborhood woke up with the sun, as coffee makers turned on and brewed the grounds placed in them the previous day and people prepared to face the day.

"Good MORNING!" exclaimed a blonde-haired reploid, clad in fleecy yellow pajamas, a brown teddy bear held tightly in his right arm.

He was greeted by three other reploids; one making a small egg and bacon breakfast, the second sitting at the dining table and staring up at the chandelier, and the last one sleeping on the raggedy couch in the next room. "Is Eri-chan not up yet?"

"Not quite yet, Mick, let her sleep, she had a rough night, remember?" the woman making breakfast questioned him. She looked at him with friendly brown eyes, and constantly shooed a piece of her bangs off of her face as it fell in front of her eyes.

"Aww... yeah, I remember. I hope she didn't wake up again, that would be so sad," the boy whined, scuffling his feet on the hardwood floors. "Desi-chan, please tell me she didn't wake up again!"

The dark-skinned reploid broke out of her trance, but still slumped on her chair as her head hit the table. She looked at him with mean eyes and a look saying, "I'm going to kill you." It was quite obvious that she wasn't in a good mood.

"Look, she didn't make a peep after I got her to sleep again, but I stayed up all night anyways worrying about her. Would you kindly leave me alone?" she snarled at the boy, causing his wild hair to stand up straight.

"Dez, stop being in such a grumpy mood," a sleepy response came from the couch, where a neon-headed reploid lay with a pillow covering his face. "I hate the mornings too, but at least I don't complain about it."

The brunette stared at the man on the couch, one hand on her hip and the other holding on to a spatula. She rolled her eyes, "Yeah, right. Where are you every time I need help doing the morning chores? That's right, in your room, hiding from the sun. It's more annoying that Desi's mood swings."

An orange eye peaked out from underneath the pillow, before disappearing once again to its dark home. A hand peaked out from behind the couch, giving all those in the room a one-fingered salute.

x~x~x

Axl was so comfortable; the sheets and pillows were so soft and the bed was so warm, it was like sleeping on a cloud. He could have stayed there forever.

"**Good morning. I would like to remind everyone****..."**

"_No__ no no... Not morning yet. Still sleeping, do not disturb."_

"**... Until then all wireless communications are down, meaning that no communications will be coming in and out of the base..."**

"_No communication? I guess we won't be hearing from HQ for a bit."_

"**... However, it has been confirmed that the mastermind behind the New Generation Reploids going maverick was indeed Sigma..."**

"_Nope, wrong.__ Sigma was involved, but Lumine... I can't believe it. Going maverick at will? I still don't understand..."_

Footsteps blocked out the rest of the broadcast, so he decided to dig himself deeper into the mountain of blankets. He tried to fall asleep but images of his dream kept him awake.

"_That girl__... I know her... knew her... whatever. I felt so good around her, like she was a missing piece of me. Now I feel so hollow, so incomplete. Who is she?"_

x~x~x

"What do you mean you're not coming?" Sandra shouted to the person on the other end of the phone, "You said for sure today and we need you back, especially Erika. She's having those nightmares again!"

A plate of bacon and eggs sat on the table, neatly placed with a glass of milk right across the table from Destiny who stared at it with hunger in her eyes. She had never eaten before and she could not taste anything, but the temptation was still there.

"... Fine; we'll see you tonight then," Sandra sighed, slamming the phone back into its base.

"Saaaandraaaaaaaaaa... Me so hungry. Me eats now. FEED ME!" Destiny screamed, chomping down on the edge of the table.

The brunette reploid sighed while heading to the pantry, grabbing a box of saran wrap. "Don't even think about it. You were not made with a stomach so eating would cause your circuits to fry. Besides, I made it for Kristy, but, BIG SURPRISE HERE, she's not coming!"

She ripped off a piece of the clingy plastic and wrapped it around the plate.

"I know she's busy with all her work, but would it kill her to come home to her family for once? Just drop everything and come when we call..."

She opened the fridge, which was nearly empty except for a carton of eggs and a jug of orange juice. She carefully placed the plate down in an empty spot.

"Just once, that's all I ask."

x~x~x

Faith was brought out of her thoughts by a shuffling sound, then footsteps. She looked up and saw Zero picking himself from off the floor.

"Well, good morning to you," she greeted, "Enjoy your sleep?"

He looked at her with a face that could kill, and then started stretching himself.

"I'll take that as a no. Couldn't find a bed, or were you too tired to wait for one?" she asked with much curiosity.

Zero was silent. He continued to stretch his stiff body, and then spoke, "If you've been fighting for as long as we have, you wouldn't wait for a bed either."

"I know you've been working for days straight. You're not the only one. Here we've been busy dealing with the New Gens and the ruckus they caused. All our beds are filled with those who got caught in the crossfire," she sighed, "It's been a long time since I've worked the frontline but we work here in the base too. The amount of casualties this latest war has caused is unbelievable. If I didn't know what the Eurasia incident did I would have called this the worst war ever."

"You know about Eurasia?"

"I cleaned up the crash site. That was ugly."

"Huh..."

x~x~x

Erika was only half awake when she found herself stumbling out of bed, out of her room and down the stairs. When she found herself in the living room she was greeted by the silent snore of a neon haired reploid who she quickly recognized as Razor.

"Everyone's still sleeping..? Odd, where's Kristy?" she whispered to herself.

"We're up," a mutter came from Razor, startling Erika, "Sandy just got off the phone with Kris; she's not coming `til tonight. Big surprise..."

A woman's voice came from the kitchen, "Morning, Erika! Have a good sleep?"

"Morning, Sandra," Erika replied, "I guess it was okay..."

"ERI-!" another voice piped up, but it sounded more like a high-pitched squealing than a young boy. The yellow blur came running down the hall towards the girl, effectively tackle-hugging her to the ground, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Waaaaaaaaaaah! Here, take Teddy, he'll protect you from the nightmare!"

"_Destiny, why did you have to tell everyone? They worry about me enough as is__... and it wasn't all that bad afterwards either..."_

"Eri-chan, Eri-chan! Are you okay? SAY SOMETHING!" the boy wailed, squeezing her tighter.

"Mick?" Erika asked.

"Yes?"

"Can you... please let go... of me..."

"What? You're too quiet, Eri-chan, speak up!"

"You're squeezing me... too tight!"

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" the boy screamed out again, quickly releasing the girl and running back down the hall from which he came, "I'M SO SORRY!"

"_You have nothing to be sorry about. Everything I am dealing with, I brought upon myself."_

x~x~x

Zero had long left, but Faith had decided to stay behind in her office and watch after the two "children" still sleeping. Axl occasionally rolled around in the bed, but X hadn't moved an inch since she woke up.

"_Is he even alive anymore? Might as well check up on him..."_

Forcing herself up from her chair, she made her way to where X lay on the floor. Precariously balanced on one foot, she nudged X with the other one, with no response.

"_Okay, either he's that tired or he's dead. Better see which one of the two it is."_

Anchoring herself on the one foot, she wriggled the other under the blue reploid's body...

"_3... 2... 1..."_

... and flipped him over.

"Waah!" X screamed as he rolled over and hit his head on the edge of the bed.

"Good morning to you, too," Faith sarcastically replied, staring down at him with a smirk on her face.

X~X~X~X

END CHAPTER 5

X~X~X~X

_Author's notes: __w00t. Another chapter over and done with, but when am I going to the action..?_

_Fun fact: I wrote this chapter weirdly. I started with a scene that I ended up putting in the next chapter, jumped to the beginning, and then I filled it up._

"_Writing a story is like making a sandwich. You start with two pieces of bread and then you decide what you want in it."_

_Fun Fact 2__: I ended up removing a scene from Chapter 4 and put it in here instead. I also rewrote it __**slightly...**__ 8D_


	7. Introductions

**MEGAMAN X : COMPLETION**

**Chapter 6 – Introductions**

By Johannah Faythe

"Morning, er, Afternoon. Have a good sleep?" Someone asked Axl… Faith, he thought?

"Uh, yeah," he managed to mutter while digging himself out from under the mountain of pillowy softness he managed to bury himself under.

"That's good," she spoke again, "Any discomfort, pain, noticeable disfigurations to your body?"

"N- Wait, WHAT? I hope not…" Axl shot straight up and frantically started searching his body for any changes.

"Cool it kid, you look fine, just standard procedure for New Gens. Since you're a prototype, I have to ask you too. Don't worry, I haven't met a New Gen whose Copy Chip has malfunctioned on them yet."

"Great… That means nothing's going to happen, or I'll be the first…" He muttered under his breath.

"Did you say something?"

"N-no, nothing at all…"

x~x~x

"_Dammit..!" _X thought to himself, once again getting himself lost in Capital City's Hunter Base, but had not noticed yet as he was busy stretching out his stiff body while randomly walking around.

"_She's strong, I'll give her that. But did she really have to flip me over like that? My poor head's pounding, I can't hear myself think!"_

He came to an intersection, and took a right turn.

"_I mean, seriously, she's rough. If I had to guess, I'd say she was a field nurse at one point in time or another."_

He came to another intersection, and took another right turn.

"_Yeah… I think I've seen her before… and that green lifesaver too. His name is Verde, isn't it?"_

Another intersection and another right turn.

"_Okay, I know it! Faith and Verde, sister and brother! They used to work at HQ!"_

Yet another intersection. Guess what?

"_How do I know them though? There are so many nurses and lifesavers at HQ, I don't even know most of their names. Why do I know those two?"_

He came to a stop at another intersection.

"_I think I've been here before… No, all these corners look the same."_

Without another thought, he took a right.

"_Anyways, those two, those two… Where where where, why why why…"_

You know how this goes.

"_What what what, when when when, how how how…"_

And again. He stopped yet again and took a closer look around.

"_Have I…? YES. Dammit, I'm lost AGAIN!"_

"Need help?" A young voice chimed.

He turned around, and wasn't surprised to see the young reploid boy Alphie standing there with a smile on his face.

"Hey, Alphie…" X managed to croak, resisting the urge to bang his head against the nearest wall for his stupidity.

"Medbay?" the boy asked, almost as if he was reading his mind.

"Yes, please."

x~x~x

"You know, you're looking great despite everything that's happened," Faith stated, "Why don't I take you on a tour of the base? Get a little exercise, get a look around, and meet a few people?"

"Why would I need to meet new people?" Axl questioned.

"Well... from what I've been hearing you're going to be here for a while."

"What..?"

"Details aren't available yet, but HQ got attacked. For now you, X and Zero are to remain here in Capital City until further notice."

"Wait a second, what exactly happened? How bad was it?"

"I'm sorry, I don't know any more than what I've told you. Gregory was getting details from Metropolis when lightning hit our Comm Tower."

"Oh..."

"I wouldn't worry too much about it; it's not the first time HQ's been attacked."

"_Was that supposed to make me feel better?" _Axl thought.

"So, what do you say?" Faith questioned again, "Free tour of the base, guided by me. One time offer."

"..." Axl thought for a bit, "I guess it wouldn't hurt."

"Great! Your tour starts now."

x~x~x

"There you are, X!" Zero exclaimed, looking up from his seat in the MedBay waiting room and watching Alphie direct X in the right direction, "Got yourself lost again, huh? This place is huge!"

Alphie let out a small laugh, while X facepalmed, "I know…"

"Hey, don't get so down, only the H Block is a maze. Once you find the Great Hall everything is really easy to find," Alphie chimed, his signature 'girly' smile on his face.

"H block..?" X questioned.

"Oh, sorry! The Hospital is called the H Block. The entire base is organized into 'blocks', like the A Block, B Block, C Block…" Alphie replied sheepishly.

"I think we get the point," Zero cut him off, "Care to direct us towards the Commander's Office? I'd like to have a word with him…"

"Not a prob-" Alphie started, but was cut off by an announcement coming over the intercom.

"Alphie, this is your superior speaking. If you're not in the Navigator's Bay THIS INSTANT, I will be forced to SERIOUSLY KICK YOUR LAZY -"

"Uh, sorry!" Alphie quickly screamed, racing down a hallway, "I'll have to leave a rain check on that!"

x~x~x

About 15 minutes had passed, and nothing had caught Axl's interest. The hospital/infirmary was quite boring and bland, with simple white titanium walls and a translucent white tile floor. He had learned that the hospital had the most advanced technology in the world due to constant dealings with the Next Generation Reploids and the Jakob Project, but he preferred to keep that memory suppressed in the back of his mind. Soon enough, they reached a hallway and managed to reach the next section of the base.

"… And here is the Great Hall!" Faith said exuberantly. Axl looked around, taking in the various sights of polished stone walls, glass floors up far above him, and many hunters just hanging around, chatting and enjoying one another's company. In the center of it all was four glass elevators, constantly moving up and down between the glass floors and sometimes disappearing through the roof.

"The Great Hall itself is about three levels high, with lounges taking up the next three floors above it. Above that is a huge library that takes up four floors itself, and on the roof is the Dome Top where we all meet if there's a mission too large to fit in the Major Case Briefing Rooms. We've only used it a few times, so it's been converted to an outdoor/indoor lounge for everyday use," Faith explained, "The Great Hall is the highest traffic area in the entire base, connecting all the blocks to one another. Hunters are always moving in and out, so many take advantage of that fact and use this place as a social gathering area. Technically they are supposed to use the Glass Floor Lounges or the Cafeteria for that, but it's never enforced."

"W-wow," Axl stammered, "It's so big!"

"Yeah, it is, isn't it?" Faith replied, "We were one of the smaller bases in terms of numbers, but because of the Jakob Project we were forced to expand due to all the Next Gens moving in. Before we had less than a hundred members and mainly cared for minor mechaniloid outbreaks here in the capital. Now we are well over a thousand and spread out between here, Coastal City, and the Orbital Elevator site, and main threats include human riots, mavericks and major mechaniloid outbreaks."

"…" Axl couldn't find any words to say.

"Well, no point staying here any longer! We've still got a lot of base to see! Let's see if the Commander is in, okay?"

x~x~x

"This base… is too big…" Zero yelled exhaustively, staring at yet another four way intersection, "What is this, turn 427?"

"How would I know?" X screamed back, "I lost count after 292!"

"..." Zero thought for a moment, "Maybe if we go in a straight line, we'll find an exit, or someone to get us out of here."

X slumped over. He has suffered two too many embarrassments already.

x~x~x

Faith led Axl on northward, which was referred to as the "B Block".

"The base is organized into different sectors, better known as 'blocks'," she explained as the two headed down a hallway, "Each block houses different departments, like R&D, Training Rooms, even Dormitories. The B Block is home to the Commander's Office, various sizes of briefing rooms, and the offices of the head of each department. Hopefully Commander McCloud isn't TOO busy today…"

"Too busy?" Axl asked.

"Well, we have a couple of trouble-makers in the base that we deal with almost daily. Since this whole fiasco started they've been a little too quiet… So I'm hoping that they haven't heard the 'news' yet…"

"What news?"

"That the government has officially declared the 8th Maverick War over."

x~x~x

X and Zero stood in the middle of a large stone-walled room, with glass elevators in the center and glass floors high above them. Zero pumped his fists as a sign of personal victory.

"We made it out of that maze!" Zero exclaimed with joy, "Now we just have to find our next destination, the Commander's Office! That kid said once we got out of the Hospital it's easy to find our way, right?"

"Well, yeah…" X replied softly.

"So, what's the hold-up? Let's go!"

"Do you know WHERE to go?"

Zero stopped, his enthusiasm gone, "N-no, I don't…"

x~x~x

As soon as Faith and Axl exited the elevator on the fourth floor of the B Block, they heard two screams come from down the hallway, followed by two blurs of green and blue.

"Run for your lives, it's gonna blow!"

Although they were travelling at LEAST a hundred kilometers an hour Faith managed to stop the two – one by the hair, the other by sticking out her foot – and stared at the two young girl reploids.

"Whaddya doin'? Run, run, run!" the first one piped up. Faith had managed to grab her by her long blue pigtails.

"Yeah, it ain't gonna be pretty!" the second one shrieked. It was impossible to tell if her short green hair naturally stuck up in such a straight way or if fear/terror had made it that way.

"When WHAT blows, exact-" the nurse started to question, but as if on cue an explosion rang through the base, and a door flew through the hallway followed by a cloud of black smoke.

"THAT!" the green one stated innocently, pointing in the direction from which the explosion came.

As soon as the dust settled, Axl stared in disbelief at what he saw. The door had come from the commander's office (quite obviously as his nameplate was still attached to the door), and the entire hallway was coated in soot. The two reploid girls smiled sheepishly as Faith surveyed the damage.

"What…" Faith started, keeping her calm, "Exactly did you do this time?"

"IT WASN'T OUR FAULT!" the two wailed in sync before rambling on their side of the story, hitting each other with their large hand gestures and pointing down the hall at the Commander's office.

A deep growling came from the hall, causing the girls to shut up and their hair to poof up like a scared cat's fur.

"Gotta run, see ya!" the girls screeched in unison before running down the halls in the opposite direction.

On the floor below, X and Zero had finally found where they wanted to be when the explosion occurred.

"What was that? Are we under attack?" X asked, readying his buster. Zero was also at attention, his famous Z-Saber in hand. The reploids in the area continued to do their work, as if nothing had happened.

An old man stared at the two and played with his long curly mustache. He laughed at the two, before joyfully yelling, "I love the sound of chaos in the morning, it means all is back to normal! The war is over!"

The two friends stared at the old man, then at each other, and back at the old man again.

"What?" they questioned in unison.

X~X~X~X

END CHAPTER 6

X~X~X~X

_Author's Notes: Well, this chapter is a little more light-hearted than the rest, just because the darkness was a little too dark. Plus, who doesn't love a little X and Zero out-of-character-ness (although I can totally see them getting lost in an unfamiliar environment XD). This chapter was supposed to contain a lot more 'introductions', but I figured I'll spread them out a little more so you don't meet __every single character at once._

_Until next time, enjoy!_


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